Diker Appointment Continues Positive WJC Trend

Dan Diker, a resident of Efrat, has been voted WJC Secretary General Delegates dedicate Torah scroll to IDF at Western Wall.

By Aryeh Ben Hayim

First Publish: 6/21/2011, 4:22 PM / Last Update: 6/21/2011, 11:41 PM

WJC

At a time that Israel, in addition to coping with its adversaries, must contend with critics within the Jewish community, it is important to note that the trend on the part of some American Jews and American Jewish organizations to criticize Israel is not unidirectional.

The WJC seems to be reversing its earlier policies to some extent. Under Nahum Goldman and Edgar Bronfman, the World Jewish Congress (WJC) - the international umbrella representing Jewish communities in 92 countries - frequently took a position to the left of Israeli government positions.

Under the current leadership of Ron Lauder, and with the revival of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, a greater emphasis has been placed on Jewish unity and continuity.

Symbolic perhaps of a new spirit in the organization, which is currently holding a convention in Jerusalem, was a celebration at the Western Wall, of the completion of a new Torah scroll dedicated to IDF soldiers. WJC delegates danced with the soldiers.

The delegates on Monday confirmed Daniel Diker, 50, a resident of Efrat, as the new secretary general of the WJC. Prior to assuming the post, Diker was a Fellow at the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, where he also served as a senior foreign policy analyst. He was also an Adjunct Fellow of the Hudson Institute in Washington. Diker authored a monograph on the Iranian Qods Force.

In his acceptance remarks, Diker told the 250 delegates: “The power of the World Jewish Congress is in our ability to unite the Jewish world around the values of human rights, civil rights and equal rights and to stand firmly, courageously and even defiantly as a free people."